5 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR ONLINE CLASSES INTERACTIVE
‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’; are the words of Benjamin Franklin, who remarkably suggests the importance of Interactive Learning. With the ever-rising spread of COVID-19, many aspects of our lives have made a paradigm shift to Online, and Education being one of the major sectors that has been shaken by its effects.
But amidst all this uncertainty, Teachers and Educators have the utmost responsibility to turn their computer screens into an interactive and engaging platform for their students, and are now in search of tips and tricks to help them navigate better.
It is an undeniable fact that going Online, has seriously affected the lives of teachers and students, as they adapt to a completely new classroom setting and learning environment. Making Learning interactive and engaging is key to making a lesson highly effective.
Here are 5 ways to Make your Online class more interactive:
1. Storytelling:
Storytelling has always had an impact on a student’s retention and memory. This is because stories are easier to understand and remember, especially while keeping Primary School Children in the mind. Peg Neuhauser, the Organizational psychologist, found that a well-told story is remembered more accurately, and also retained for far longer, than learning which is based on facts and figures. It has also been found that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered as a part of the story. Storytelling also opens the portal to dialogue and conversation in the classroom, which improves the levels of interactivity and excitement in the Virtual Classroom.
2. Videos and Images:
According to research, approximately 65% of the population are visual learners, so there is a high chance that a good number of students in a group are visual learners. This usually involves people who are more comfortable and better at retaining information when videos and pictures are involved. Images and videos are an even better way to improve the levels of interaction in class. Students tend to be more involved and influenced by the lesson and also tend to be more open to discussion when classes are interactive.
3. Online Collaboration:
The internet is an expansive tool that will truly help make the Virtual Classroom better. Students can be encouraged to collaborate, by assigning them group work, which can be done through Google Docs or Slides. Educators can also look into alternative platforms where interactive and competitive learning is encouraged, such as mPowerO, Socrative, Kahoot and Quizziz, where fun quizzes which make the lesson more interactive. Video assignments are also a great way to improve online collaboration among your students.
4. Add a Fun Element:
One of the easiest ways to make a class, more interactive and engaging is through the inclusion of a fun element, something that would be completely unimaginable in a traditional classroom setting. This can be done through activities like class discussions, and debates, or a painting assignment. This method always tends to pull in the students, those who may be not so inclined to the particular lesson.
5. Evaluation:
Testing and evaluation processes must also change according to the requirements of the Virtual Classrooms. The scenario-based assessment would be one of the most innovative and fun ways to conduct online assessments. It is proved to be extremely effective by three Learning theories i.e., Cognitive Learning Theory, John Keller’s ARCS Model, and Herman Witkin’s Theory. Apart from being an accurate measure of the thinking capabilities of the student, it is an efficient tool to increase interactivity and creativity within the student group.
Interactivity makes the learning more interesting and effective. Hope the above points provide some help in making better use of Digital platforms offering better experience to the students. mPowerO, understands the difficulty in adapting to this whole new setting, and offers highest quality LMS to help teachers conduct online classes easier and better!
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